Monday & Tuesday (2/13 & 2/14) Most often thought of as a Motown recording act, the classic group sound of legendary R&B recording artists The Spinners has never lost its universal appeal. Throughout the years they have sold millions of records and topped both the Pop and R&B charts. Today, original member Henry Fambrough is joined onstage by lead singer Charlton Washington, high tenor Marvin Taylor, tenor Ronnie Moss, and bass singer Jessie Peck. A soul-infused 5-piece band, led by Keith Ferguson, backs them up. Just a few of the group’s many hits and fan favorites are “Mighty Love,” “Then Came You,” “I’ll Be Around,” “One Of A Kind (Love Affair),” “Games People Play,” “Working My Way Back to You,” and “Could It Be.” The Spinners have six GRAMMY nominations, have also been awarded the Rythym and Blues Foundation Award, and were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999. What better way to spend a Valentines dinner date than with the passionate and memorable music of The Spinners! The group performs at 8pm each night.

Wednesday (2/15) Smooth jazz pianist, composer, producer, arranger, and radio show host Bob Baldwin will take to the stage. Across a two decade career Bob Baldwin has released over 20 CDs. His musical influences include Herbie Hancock, Patrice Rushen, Chick Corea, Earth Wind & Fire, Ramsey Lewis, Stevie Wonder and the late, greats Joe Sample, Miles Davis and George Duke. Baldwin has proven to be one of the most ubiquitous and ingenious chameleons of contemporary jazz – both on his own projects and those he has endeavored upon for others. He honored Michael Jackson with his 2010 release, Never Can Say Goodbye: A Tribute to Michael Jackson and famed songwriter Thom Bell with Betcha By Golly Wow: The Songs of Thom Bell, released in 2012. His latest, The Brazilian-American Soundtrack, released in 2016, is currently riding high on the Smooth Jazz charts. Born into a family of musical excellence, Bob Baldwin’s father, Robert Garfield Baldwin Sr., played piano with legendary Washington, DC bassist Keter Betts who played with Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Nat Adderley, Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd, and Art Davis. Bob’s cousin is renowned pianist Larry Willis. Joining Bob Baldwin will be Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame guitarist, Nils. The show starts at 8pm.

Friday (2/17) Fall in love again at The School of Seduction. This ain’t a gospel play! Let The Punany Poets remind you how with this inspiring and hilarious romantic comedy show for lovers and friends. Co-Produced by Theresa tha S.O.N.G.B.I.R.D., the singing poet you may recognize from TV One’s Verses & Flow, this show is an interactive spectacle of love and sex education theater, bringing happiness to your heart and new skill sets to your bed. Open up communication, assume new positions as we demonstrate them. Make new conversations of old memories with love confessions. Redefine your love life with the perfect date night. This steamy show starts at 7pm.

Saturday (2/18) Don’t miss the return of Joe Clair & Friends! Joe will be back at it for two big shows featuring comedians Barry Ribs, Vanessa Fraction, and Tony Woods. The house band, Sound of the City, will add the musical touch. Host, comedian, radio personality and on-air veteran Joe Clair is no stranger when it comes to Washington, D.C. This native of Seat Pleasant, MD is the current host of WPGC’s Joe Clair Morning Show, taking the morning airwaves by storm and making the drive to work much more enjoyable for listeners across the DMV. He is proud graduate of Morgan State University where he pledged Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and graduated as a psychology major but found his passion for comedy, music, and communications. Clair got his start on HBO’s Def Comedy Jam before gaining national notoriety as host of BET’s famed show Rap City, where he introduced the world to hip-hop and rap superstars and was most notably known as the last person to interview hip-hop icon Notorious B.I.G. Catch the Joe Clair & Friends Comedy Show at 7pm and 10pm.

Sunday (2/19) Fire, smoke, vibrant costuming, and even a live, 12-foot python snake are all just part of what’s in store for audiences these days at a typical stage performance by The Bar-Kays! Today’s Bar-kays have boosted their high-energy act into an even higher gear for the new millennium crowd. Beginning as a house band with Stax Records in Memphis in 1966, their potent, dynamic sound carried them to a chart-topping perch the very next year with their first smash single, “Soul Finger.” The Bar-Kays backed soul singer Otis Redding and many other R&B stars, and pioneered funk with their own hits including “Shake Your Rump to the Funk” and “Freakshow on the Dance Floor.” Sharing the show with The Bar-Kays will be R&B and pop crossover hitmakers, Brick. You have two chances to see this great double bill, at 7pm and 10pm.

Tuesday (2/7) Born in Jamaica, Junior Marvin moved to London as a child, where his love of both acting and music was nurtured. He appeared in the Beatles’ film, Help, which was followed by a number of other television appearances. In America, he performed with the likes of blues legend T-Bone Walker and Ike & Tina Turner. Back in England he played with bands such as Herbie Goins & The Nighttimers, Blue Ace Unit, and White Rabbit. Exodus was Marvin’s first album with Bob Marley and The Wailers and it was voted Best Album of the 20th Century by Time Magazine. Since Marley’s passing in 1981, Junior Marvin has put out four CDs with The Wailers: ID, Majestic Warriors, Jah Message, and My Friends, continuing on with the message and music as Marley asked him to do. Come to the Bob Marley Birthday Celebration, music courtesy of Junior Marvin’s Wailers! The show starts at 8pm.

Thursday (2/9) We’ve got an amazing double bill with The Sisters of Soul – Deniece Williams and Shirley Jones! Deniece Williams is an American funk and soul singer, songwriter, and record producer who is known for her hits including “Free,” “Let’s Hear It for the Boy,” and “It’s Gonna Take a Miracle,” as well as for her many vocal duets with Johnny Mathis. In 1984, she released the album, Let’s Hear It for the Boy. The title track reached Billboard’s #1 and was featured on the soundtrack to Footloose. The song would prove to be the biggest pop hit of her career – and the last. In 1986, she would release her first full-length gospel album, So Glad I Know, for which she won two GRAMMY Awards. In 1979, The Jones Girls’ “You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else” highlighted the magic touch of famed Philadelphia producers Gamble and Huff. Shirley Jones and her sisters had a string of hits including “I Just Love the Man,” “Dance Turned into a Romance,” and their GRAMMY-nominated classic, “Nights Over Egypt.” As a solo artist, Shirley Jones topped the charts with “Do You Get Enough Love” in 1986, which stayed #1 on the Billboard R&B chart for three weeks. Her latest album is My Time To Shine. This performance begins at 8pm.

Friday (2/10)Billy Price has been entertaining audiences since first performing in Pittsburgh, PA with the Rhythm Kings in the early 1970s. In April 2016, he was officially recognized and inducted as a Pittsburgh Rock ’n Roll Legend. His latest recording, This Time For Real, with recently deceased Chicago soul singer Otis Clay, received a 2016 Blues Music Award by the Blues Foundation of Memphis, Tennessee in the category of Best Soul Blues Album. Price formed The Billy Price Band in 1990. The Nighthawks are America’s seminal roots music band! The Washington, DC-based quartet of Mark Wenner (harmonica/vocals), Paul Bell (guitar/vocals), Johnny Castle (bass/vocals) and Mark Stutso (drums/vocals) touch all bases with excursions into blues, soul, rock ‘n’ roll, roadhouse country and rhythm and blues. This Blues Music Award-winning band can always deliver the goods! This show gets rockin’ at 8pm.

Saturday (2/11) GRAMMY-nominated vocalist and writer Syleena Johnson is one of the greatest singers and performers of her generation. She has scored major R&B hits and been invited to collaborate with the likes of Kanye West, R. Kelly, and Musiq Soulchild. Syleena’s last album, Couples Therapy, deals with love and relationships. The album opens with the upbeat and lyrically honest song “All This Way for Love.” Leela James accompanies Syleena on the soulful 60’s throwback “Fool’s Gold,” and the incomparable Dave Hollister joins her on the moving and triumphant “Harmony.” Syleena Johnson is also a popular television personality as one of the original cast members on R&B Divas Atlanta for 3 seasons, among other notable appearances. Her performance begins at 8pm.

Sunday (2/12) As a boy in Philadelphia, Jeff Bradshaw performed with brass bands on Broad Street, just a stone’s throw from the spot where Philadelphia’s most prestigious performing arts center, The Kimmel Center, stands today. He dreamed: Why not bring the crème-de-la-crème of singers and players to The Kimmel for a genre-crossing one-night-only musical event that would replicate the excitement of the classic R&B revues for this generation of fans? Since Bradshaw’s trombone has propelled horn-sections for everyone from Jill Scott to Jay Z and Erykah Badu to Kirk Franklin, this was an easy sell. Bradshaw’s Kimmel Center dream came to fruition on May 28, 2014 and the result was a sold-out success in front of a rapturous, wildly appreciative audience. He has been creating Jeff Bradshaw & Friends happenings since then, and returns again this year for another Valentine’s celebration. The concert begins at 8pm.

Monday & Tuesday (2/13 & 2/14) Most often thought of as a Motown recording act, the classic group sound of legendary R&B recording artists The Spinners has never lost its universal appeal. Throughout the years they have sold millions of records and topped both the Pop and R&B charts. Today, original member Henry Fambrough is joined onstage by lead singer Charlton Washington, high tenor Marvin Taylor, tenor Ronnie Moss, and bass singer Jessie Peck. A soul-infused 5-piece band, led by Keith Ferguson, backs them up. Just a few of the group’s many hits and fan favorites are “Mighty Love,” “Then Came You,” “I’ll Be Around,” “One Of A Kind (Love Affair),” “Games People Play,” “Working My Way Back to You,” and “Could It Be.” The Spinners have six GRAMMY nominations, have also been awarded the Rythym and Blues Foundation Award, and were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999. What better way to spend a Valentines dinner date than with the passionate and memorable music of The Spinners! The group performs at 8pm each night.

Other great upcoming shows include the Bethesda Blues and Jazz 4th Anniversary Celebration with Dionne Warwick, Daryl Davis Presents: The Wonder Women Blues Festival, St. Patrick’s Day with O’Malley’s March, Mother’s Day with After 7, Father’s Day with Lenny Williams, and The Chi-Lites. Check for details on our Music Calendar, and we look forward to seeing you soon!

Tuesday (7/5) Come along to the jam session with Gary Grainger and Friends! This First Tuesday of the Month event gives YOU the chance to jam and sing with bassist Gary Grainger, drummer Greg Grainger, and their world-class musician friends. It’s a great time whether you join the band onstage or just come out and enjoy the music. We offer free admission for AFM Union member card holders (must present Union Card and valid picture ID at door). The Jam starts at 8pm.

Wednesday (7/6) We’ve got Dontae Winslow and The Winslow Dynasty with special guest Gary Thomas! Dontae Winslow is a Music Producer/Songwriter/Arranger who is currently on tour with the Justin Timberlake 20/20 Experience World Tour, and has performed on SNL, Jimmy Kimmel, and Ellen. Dontae has written songs for Jay-Z, Kanye, Keyshia Cole, Mary Mary and Kendrick Lamar. Dontae Winslow & Winslow Dynasty’s latest album, Enter The Dynasty, features guest appearances by Quest Love, Chick Corea, Roy Hargrove and Dennis Chambers. His trumpet is heard around the world from Aloe Blacc’s “I’m The Man” Beats By Dre Commercial to Tyler Perry’s “Haves and Havenots” TV show Theme song. That’s some creative star power! Join us for the show at 8pm. SPECIAL DISCOUNT JUST ADDED: Use Discount Code BBJDontaeW when buying your tickets for 50% OFF!

Thursday (7/7) Come celebrate the “Big Five” songwriters with contemporaries Spencer Day and Dave Damiani &The No Vacancy Orchestra. This evening will be all about composers Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and the Gershwin Brothers. Spencer Day is an amazing songwriter in his own right. His hit “Til You Come To Me” was ranked the #1 cut of 2010 by The Smooth Jazz Top 20 Countdown. He has performed all over the world. Dave Damiani & The No Vacancy Orchestra is in constant rotation on XM 71 Siriusly Sinatra and radio stations all over the country. They have done music for POLO – Ralph Lauren, CBS – Vegas, SINATRA 100, Marriott Corporation, FOX, ABC’s Sonoran Living, and more. The concert starts at 8pm.

Friday (7/8) Don’t miss these legendary R&B recording artists… The Spinners! The Spinners have a universal appeal and throughout the years they have sold millions of records and topped both the Pop and R&B charts with smash hits like “I’ll Be Around” and “Then Came You.” Today, original member Henry Fambrough is joined onstage by lead singer Charlton Washington, high tenor Marvin Taylor, tenor Ronnie Moss, and bass singer Jessie Peck. A soul-infused 5-piece band led by Keith Ferguson backs them up. After a brief time at Motown, The Spinners signed to Atlantic Records. There, under the helm of producer and songwriter Thom Bell, The Spinners charted five top 100 singles (and two top tens) from Spinners (1972). A partial list of their hit singles on Atlantic include “Mighty Love,” “Then Came You,” “I’ll Be Around,” “One Of A Kind (Love Affair),” “Games People Play,” and “Could It Be.” In 1979, they completed their first collaboration with producer Michael Zager, and by early 1980, “Working My Way Back to You” topped the Pop and R&B charts giving the group its 12th gold record. Today, The Spinners maintain an active touring schedule, performing for fans of all ages in sold out houses around the world. The show kicks off at 8pm.

Saturday (7/9) This R&B songstress exploded onto the music scene in the late 1980s – a sultry singer with a silky voice made for slow R&B ballads and funky soul. She is none other than Meli’sa Morgan and she’s ready to deliver a delicious performance for us live and in person, along with her special guest Harlem talent Cartier Conway. Blessed with the gift of song with a passion, her vocal style and sound is captured in hit songs like “Do Me Baby, “Do You Still Love Me,” Fool’s Paradise,” and “Now or Never.” Her vocals are as strong and powerful as Chaka Khan or Aretha Franklin while bringing soft, kitten sensuality that will pull you in and musically speaking …seduce you. Morgan has performed backing vocals for Chaka Kahn, Whitney Houston, and Kashif, and she has opened the show for Gladys Knight and the Pips. Her writing credits have won Platinum for her work with artists including Mary J Blige and Jay-Z. Her new dance song, “So Good” was voted #1 on the DJ Dance Pool Charts in NYC, is being added on radio stations in Nigeria, Aruba, and London, and is getting great reviews by DJs and fans around the world. The music starts at 8pm.

Sunday (7/10) A Classic Rock institution will take the stage at BBJ – The Yardbirds are more than a mere rock band. In the brief period from 1963 to 1968, the group made an indelible mark on the “Shapes of Things” to come. To the casual music fan, The Yardbirds are best known as the band that honed the skills of future “guitar gods” Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page; and for their slew of chart hits, including “For Your Love,” “Heart Full of Soul,” “I’m A Man,” and “Over Under Sideways Down.” Led by core members and songwriters Jim McCarty (drums), Chris Dreja (rhythm guitar/bass) and the late Keith Relf (vocals/harmonica), the band’s experimental explorations also provided the crucial link between British R&B, Psychedelic Rock, and Heavy Metal, while pioneering the use of innovations like fuzz tone, feedback and distortion. Reuniting decades later, McCarty and Dreja brought The Yardbirds boldly into the 21st Century with the 2003 release of the acclaimed CD, Birdland. In 2015, Jim McCarty debuted the new touring lineup of The Yardbirds with guitarist Johnny A, bassist Kenny Aaronson,singer/harpist/percussionist Myke Scavone, and guitarist/singer John Idanto. As Goldmine Magazine stated, “the band’s hallmark of top-notch musicianship remains. There are no passengers in this band.” The Yardbirds and special guests Johnny Bombay & the Reactions start at 8pm.

More great shows are coming right up! Peter Erskine, Chopteeth Afrofunk Big Band, Haley Reinhart, Molly Ringwald, Kandace Springs, and Jon B… just to name a few! Check our Music Calendar any time to see what we’ve got in store.

Hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July, and we look forward to seeing you here soon. Thanks for keeping great music alive in downtown Bethesda!